“You said you liked me.”
“That has zero to do with whether I ever want to see you again.”
“Then I’ll have to try to bribe you with ice cream.” Catching her hand, he swung her around to face him. “Kayla, this is it. I can feel it. The stone is here!”
His smile was so infectious that she couldn’t help smiling back.
“You are my good luck charm. If it weren’t for you—”
“Let’s see if it’s here before you start praising me.” Pulling him with her, she marched to the doors. Plaster saints watched them from alcoves on either side. Wreaths lay at their feet. Kayla tried one of the doors, and it opened. No lock. “Remember: if you see my father, don’t hesitate. Jump fast. I’ll keep him from saying any spells.”
Inside, it was noticeably cooler. Cool air seemed to radiate from the stone walls and floors, and everything was bathed in red and blue shadows, cast by the sun through the stained glass. The pews were festooned with wilted flowers, and at the front of the church, the altar was draped in white-and-gold cloth. Kayla heard voices speaking Spanish from somewhere near the altar—two voices: a woman and an elderly man. She couldn’t see them. Keeping to the side of the church, Kayla and Daniel didn’t speak.
The stones on the walls bore names. She recognized the words for mother, sister, and grandmother on one stone and uncle and brother on the other. “Do you think it’s with any of them?” Kayla whispered to Daniel. “Our Maya jumper seems to like tombs.”
“Not a bad place to hide something,” Daniel said. “Dead people tend to stay put.”
There were dates beneath the names: 1879, 1900, 1898, 1903 … Abruptly, Kayla quit walking. “Daniel, look at the dates. This church … How old is it?”
He looked at her, his face stricken.
Retreating to the vestibule, they found a historical marker by the front doors. The church had been built in 1856. Daniel’s shoulders slumped. “We should have realized the moment we saw this place,” Kayla said. “Catholicism didn’t even exist here until the Spanish showed up.” Frowning at the dates, she didn’t look at Daniel. She didn’t have to see his expression to know he was looking like a wounded puppy again.
“I’m an idiot,” Daniel said. “The stone can’t be here. It’s—”
“If you say ‘it’s over,’ I’ll smack you.”
He didn’t complete the sentence.
“We need to find out what was here before this church.” Kayla glanced toward the altar. The voices had ceased. Where had those people gone? “There has to be someone we can ask. I heard a man and a woman before.”
Across the nave, she spotted a priest. She pulled Daniel toward him. “Hello! ¡Hola!” She waved. “Really sorry to bother you, but we have some questions about the church. ¿Habla inglés?”
The priest shook his head, spoke a few words in Spanish, and then started to walk away.
Kayla and Daniel hurried to catch up to him. “Have you seen this man?” She pulled the photo out of her pocket and pointed to her father. Barely looking at it, the priest shook his head. “He’d be older now.” She pointed to her hair. “Older. You know … Daniel, do you speak any Spanish?”
“Nada,” Daniel said.
Again, the priest shook his head apologetically. Shrugging, he began to walk away again. This time, they let him. Maybe there was someone else around … that woman she’d heard?
Kayla and Daniel scoured the church—the vestibule, the pews, the altar. Except for the priest, they were alone. Going outside, they looked up and down the dirt road. No houses were visible. Wind blew dried-up weeds against a barbed-wire fence. The two trucks were still there. One could belong to the priest. She didn’t know about the other one.
“What about your friend Selena?” Daniel asked. “She could translate.”
“I don’t want to endanger her.”
“She wouldn’t be in danger. All we need is a quick translation. One conversation. And she’d only be talking to a priest.”
Kayla shook her head. “Until my father shows up and knocks the entire church down on our heads. This isn’t her problem.”
“She’s already involved.”
“With research. With supplies. Behind-the-scenes stuff. Actually coming with us … way too risky.”
“Even if it could mean the safety of your family, that you wouldn’t have to move, that your mother wouldn’t live in fear? Even if it could mean saving my mother? She’s supposed to be your best friend. Can’t we just ask her? She might surprise you. She might surprise herself. She could be stronger than the two of you think she is.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He touched Kayla’s shoulder, and the world vanished around them. She opened her mouth to yell at Daniel for not being more careful—the priest could have seen them—and then saw Selena and her mother were on the couch, their backs to Kayla and Daniel.
Kayla clamped her hand over his mouth and pulled him down behind the couch.
Peeking out, Kayla caught a glimpse of Selena’s face in profile. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. Mrs. Otieno’s hair was down from her usual bun, and it curved around her face. She wore no makeup and no jewelry. She looked even more beautiful when she wasn’t looking perfect.
“We only want what’s best for you,” Mrs. Otieno said, her voice throbbing with sincerity. That was what made it so difficult for Selena, Kayla knew. Her mother truly cared.
Selena shook her head and didn’t speak.
Kayla held up one finger, asking Daniel to wait. She wanted to hear what they were saying. Creeping closer, she listened. She heard Selena gasp. And Kayla realized that she was reflected in the computer screen across the room. Selena’s eyes were wide and appalled. Quickly, Kayla reached with her mind and pushed the power button on the TV. Both Selena and her mom turned their heads to look at it, and Kayla mouthed to Daniel, “Out now.”
The room flashed, and they were outside on the driveway near Selena’s garage. As soon as her vertigo faded, Kayla began to pace in a tight circle. “She saw me!”
“Ring the doorbell and when she answers it, explain,” Daniel said.
“That was a private moment! She’s going to kill me! You don’t know how touchy she can be when it comes to her mother.”
“She’ll understand. How could you have known she and her mother would be there?”
Kayla stopped pacing and glared at him. He had no idea what he was talking about. No way would she understand. “You have a friend like Selena?”
“No one has a friend like Selena. But talking early could solve problems later. Look at your parents and my mom. Maybe if they’d talked more when they were our age, then—”
“—my dad wouldn’t have turned into a psychopathic killer?”
He winced. “Bad analogy?”
“Bad analogy,” she agreed. But she did walk to the door and ring the doorbell. It echoed like church bells. Kayla fidgeted. “Let me do the talking.”
After a few seconds, Kayla heard footsteps. One of the housekeepers opened the door. “Yes? Can I help you?” the woman asked in heavily accented English. “Oh, Kayla, hello!”
Daniel leaned closer to Kayla. “Or we could just take her?”
Kayla ignored him. “Hi, Camilla. Is Selena home?”
Rising on her tiptoes, Camilla peered over them at the gate. She frowned. “How did you get here? Who buzzed you in?”
Oops. She’d forgotten about the gate. Waving her hand nonchalantly, Kayla pretended to misunderstand the question. “Oh, we walked. Lovely day out. Hills are great exercise. Really, it’s important that we see Selena.”
Before Camilla could answer, Selena charged through the foyer. She spoke a few words in rapid-fire Spanish, and the housekeeper retreated. She then turned the full force of her glare on Kayla and Daniel. “Tell me I didn’t just see you inside my house, spying on me.” Coming outside, she shut the door behind her.
Before Kayla could say anything, Daniel said, “We came for your help. We’ve tracked the t
hird stone to a Catholic church somewhere in Mexico, but we can’t communicate with anyone there to find out what could have happened to it. Please, come with us.”
“I thought you were going to let me do the talking. My friend, remember?” Kayla said.
“You were going to screw it up,” Daniel said.
“I was not.”
“Or sidetrack us,” Daniel said. “Look, we appeared in your house to find you but got out as soon as we saw you weren’t alone.”
“Really?” Selena said. “Because I’m thinking I made a massive mistake showing teleporter boy where I live. Can I rescind the invitation, like with a vampire? I don’t want you appearing here like that. Ever. You come only with permission. Or, like, never. Kayla, I can’t believe you let him. I’m dying of humiliation.”
“We really need your help,” Kayla said.
“How much did you hear? Did you hear how I failed to stand up for myself? Did you hear how I caved on everything? How I said, ‘Yes, you’re right,’ when she said I’m not trying hard enough?” Selena blinked fast, her eyes overly bright.
“Selena …”
She leveled a finger at Kayla. “Don’t you dare give me advice. You’re strong; I’m not. And now I’m mortified that you saw it. I can’t believe you just appeared like that!”
Kayla wanted to tell her that she hadn’t heard anything, that it wasn’t embarrassing to care what your parents thought, that it was no big deal. But before she could decide what to say, Daniel said, “We need you to translate for us. It will be quick. There’s a priest at a church who only speaks Spanish.”
Selena sucked in air, as if trying to calm herself. “Fine. Sure. Whatever. What’s the plan? Your father—”
“If he shows up, we’ll take care of him,” Kayla said. “He won’t catch us off guard this time. I’ll distract him. Send dirt into his mouth to keep him from saying a spell. Tie him with fishing line. Et cetera. And then Daniel will jump him to a police station. Done, and done. You’ll be safe. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“And the police are going to hold him because … ?”
“Because I’ll scream and cry and freak out so badly that he won’t get a word in edgewise. Once they look him up in their records, they’ll know he’s wanted in connection with a cold case, especially when I give them the place, dates, and names. They’ll contact the detective who—”
“Kayla … ,” Selena began.
“It’s going to work,” Kayla insisted. “I’m going to capture him. And we’ll rescue Daniel’s mom while he’s in custody. He won’t be able to stop us, due to being behind bars.”
“Not to be a party pooper, but how will you know where to find her?”
Daniel answered. “Because before the police station, I’m going to threaten to drop him in the middle of the ocean. Or dangle him off a cliff. Either way works.” He said it so matter-of-factly, as if he’d done this before. It reminded her of the day they’d met—he’d seemed so unflappable. Kayla wondered how he’d learned to shrug on cool like it was a jacket.
“At least you’ve given it some thought,” Selena said. “Okay, when do you need me to do this?” She glanced at the house. “My mom has a meeting at her office tonight.”
“We need you now,” Daniel said. He reached out and placed a hand on Selena’s shoulder. Before Selena could react, the two of them vanished.
A second later, he reappeared—without Selena—and touched Kayla’s arm. The world flickered, and they were in the vestibule of the church. Selena was standing there, and she was pissed. “You left me!” she yelled. “You took me, and left me!” She poked his shoulder with her manicured index finger.
He flinched, then held his finger to his lips. “Shhh, this is a church. I can only transport one at a time.”
“Then transport me back!” Selena shouted. “I can’t do this right now. My mother’s home! If she notices I’m gone—”
At the same time, Kayla said, “Daniel, you can’t just—”
“The sooner you help us,” Daniel said in a calm, reasonable voice, “the sooner I take you back to your mother.”
“Do you have any idea how much trouble I’m going to be in? I’m already in enough trouble. I’ve been skipping classes. Mom noticed.”
“You have?” Kayla felt her eyes widen. Selena had never skipped classes before. “Is it Sam?”
Selena ignored the question. “If she thinks I’m skipping out on her lecture about why she’s disappointed in me for skipping out and letting down the generations who toiled in the fields so she could come to America and work hard and give me every opportunity, and so on and so forth … You have to take me back. I’ll help you later. I said I would! Just not now.”
“We need you now,” Daniel said.
“You are an asshole,” Selena said.
“But I’m an asshole who can teleport.”
“Daniel, take her home now,” Kayla said. “We can do this later. You can’t—”
Daniel leveled a finger at Kayla. “Do you want to stop your father or don’t you? Your mother lives in fear. And I don’t know if mine lives at all. Selena can help her, help my mother, and get home before her mother even notices. All the mommies are happy. Just, for the love of God, stop the incessant arguing and do it!”
Selena and Kayla stared at him. “You’re going to get struck by lightning for blaspheming inside a church,” Selena commented. “Not to mention kidnapping, which this is. You’re no better than Kayla’s father.”
“Don’t. Say. That,” Kayla said flatly. “He’s no murderer.” Daniel was only being logical. One conversation, and Selena could save not one but two families. Selena was being ridiculous to reject such a simple request. “Yes, Daniel shouldn’t have taken you like that, but now that you’re here … Selena, just … could you please be our translator?”
Selena’s glare was strong enough to wither plants. “If things go wrong and you get me killed, you’re the one who gets to tell my mother.”
“Deal!” Grabbing Selena’s arm, Daniel led the way through the church. Kayla followed behind. She told herself they weren’t endangering her best friend. As she walked, she watched and listened for any sign that her father was here. She didn’t see anything move or hear anything other than their own footsteps echoing on the stone floor.
Beyond the altar, tucked to the right of the pulpit, was a door. Daniel knocked. No answer. He tried the doorknob. Locked. Stepping aside, he gestured for Kayla. Kayla unlocked the door with her mind, and Daniel pushed it open.
The church was empty.
Kayla felt her shoulder unknot. She didn’t know what she’d expected. No, she knew exactly what she had expected. A dead priest. She’d expected her father to have beaten them here, interrogated the priest, taken the stone (if it was here), and left. She’d expected to lose.
A voice, a man, spoke sharply in Spanish. They all spun around.
It was the priest. He was alive, fine, and not happy to see them standing in the doorway to his office. Selena began talking quickly in Spanish. She pointed to Kayla and Daniel, and the priest’s scowl darkened. Daniel leaned closer to Kayla and said in a soft voice, “She wouldn’t take revenge, would she?”
“She absolutely would,” Kayla said just as softly, “if this didn’t matter so much. Right now, she wants to get back to her mother, and she knows you’re her only ticket back. She’s probably just insulting us to the priest and telling him to pray for us to burn in eternal hellfire. Or something like that.” Raising her voice, she said, “Selena, we need to know what was here before this church.”
Selena translated.
The priest answered her, and the two of them chattered back and forth.
Daniel interrupted. “We need to know—”
Selena held up her hand, palm out. She resumed talking to the priest. After a few minutes, she spun around and said, “Okay, take me home. I have what you need.” She grabbed on to Daniel’s arm.
“Tell us,” Daniel said.
/> “After you take me home,” Selena said.
“Fine.” Daniel and Selena disappeared, fast as a bubble popping.
The priest’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he pitched backward, fainting. Darting forward, Kayla caught the priest before he cracked his head on the stone floor. She lowered him, unconscious, safely down to the ground. She hoped that whatever Selena had found out, it didn’t require them to return here. It wasn’t going to be possible to explain this to the priest in any language. She hoped he woke up okay. She hated to leave him alone like this. Standing up, she looked around the church. Maybe there was someone nearby …
A woman was at the back of the church, probably the same woman the priest had been talking to earlier. Perfect, Kayla thought. She can make sure he’s okay. Sunlight streamed from the door behind her, making her silhouette glow as if she were an angel. She had blond hair and wore a yellow sundress. Waving, Kayla caught her attention.
As the woman walked through the pews toward her, Daniel reappeared. He grabbed Kayla’s arm, and the church, the priest, and the woman vanished.
Chapter 19
A flash later, and she was in Selena’s garage.
“You realize people saw your disappearing trick,” Kayla said to Daniel.
“Doesn’t matter,” Daniel said. “We aren’t going back there.”
“We might, depending on what Selena learned. You want to be burned at the stake or dissected by scientists or treated as a freak show?”
“So long as we succeed, it doesn’t matter. I can deal with the consequences later.”
Both of them turned to Selena, and Kayla saw the anger from earlier drain out of her face—and her eyes fill with pity instead. “Kayla, Daniel … I’m so sorry, but the dates don’t work. He said the church was built in 1853 and that it’s on the site of an older church that was built in the 1700s. And that site was chosen by the Spanish conquistador Juan Rodriguez de la Cosa in 1530. Before that, he didn’t know. But I know that the Great Jaguar Temple was built in the 700s, which is earlier than 1853, 1700, or even 1530, which means …”
“… which means we’re screwed,” Kayla finished for her.
Chasing Power Page 20